Mark Kirk Returning To Senate For Start Of New Session

Mark Kirk Returning To Senate On Thursday
FILE - In this Oct. 11, 2010 file photo, Illinois Republican U.S. Senate candidate Rep. Mark Kirk laughs during the annual Coumbus Day parade in Chicago. Nearly a year after a stroke left him barely able to move the left side of his body, U.S. Sen. Mark Kirk is expected to climb the 45 steps to the Senate's front door this week _ a walk that is significant not just for Illinois' junior senator, but also for medical researchers and hundreds of thousands of stroke patients. (AP Photo/M. Spencer Green, File)
FILE - In this Oct. 11, 2010 file photo, Illinois Republican U.S. Senate candidate Rep. Mark Kirk laughs during the annual Coumbus Day parade in Chicago. Nearly a year after a stroke left him barely able to move the left side of his body, U.S. Sen. Mark Kirk is expected to climb the 45 steps to the Senate's front door this week _ a walk that is significant not just for Illinois' junior senator, but also for medical researchers and hundreds of thousands of stroke patients. (AP Photo/M. Spencer Green, File)

WASHINGTON -- Nearly a year after suffering a major stroke, Sen. Mark Kirk (R-Ill.) will be returning to the Senate on Thursday for the opening of the 113th session of Congress.

Kirk is scheduled to arrive at the Capitol at 11:30 a.m., where he will be greeted by some of his fellow senators, including Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.). According to CNN, Vice President Joe Biden also plans to greet Kirk when he arrives.

He will later hold a press conference with doctors and researchers from the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago and Northwestern Memorial Hospital, who will discuss the treatment he underwent.

Climbing the stairs of the Capitol will be no small feat for Kirk, who was largely paralyzed on his left side after the stroke. In November, the senator climbed 37 flights in Chicago's Willis Tower.

Kirk has not cast a vote since suffering the stroke last January. He briefly returned to his Senate office on Dec. 20 to meet with his staff.

In a Chicago Sun-Times interview published Wednesday, Kirk said he would support an assault weapons ban when he returns to work.

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Mark Kirk In Recovery From Stroke

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